Belgium. Saint-Paul de Sincay, L-A (1815-1890). Vieille Montagne Zinc Mine Company (Belgium & Sweden) 1837-1887.

These gold plated bronze medals with a carrying eye were provided year 1888 for the 6100 workers at the zinc mining company. Engraved by Eduard Geerts, 1888 (signature "ED. GEERTS" above the shoulder on obverse side). Gold plated bronze 50 mm. Weight 59 gram.

The company des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille-Montagne (Vieille Montagne Zinc Mining Company) presented this medal to its general director Louis-Alexandre Saint Paul de Sincay (1815-1890) for his period of leading the company, 1837-1887, mining zink in Vieille-Montagne from 1837, and in Zinkgruvan in Sweden (Askersund) from 1857 (still in operation). (For details, see below).

Obverse:
Bust of Louis-Alaxandre Saint-Paul de Sincay, to the left.

Reverse:
The Vieille Montage emblem - coat of arms stamped with three stars around VM (Vieille Montagne), Hammer and pickaxe linked by a ribbon, between two olive branches. LA VIEILLE MONTAGNE A SON DIRECTEUR GENERAL SAINT PAUL DE SINCAY 1837-1887.

THE JUBILEE PARTY 1888
The jubilee party itself took place on July 28, 1888 in the premises of the factory. During this occasion, Louis Alaxandre Saint-Paul de Sincay receives a gold medal for his outstanding performance. Also 12 silver and 500 bronze medals were provided for the administration staff, commissioners and servants. 6100 gold plated bronze medals (with a carrying eye) were provided for the workers.

VIEILLE MONTAGNE ZINC MINE
Vieille Montagne was a zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine), a town in Belgium between Liège and Aachen. The mine's name is French for "old mountain".

The Belgian industrialist Jean-Jacques Dony received a decree from the Napoleonic authorities in 1806, allowing him to mine the zinc ore deposit at La Vieille Montagne near Liège. At that time, the area belonged to the French département of the Ourthe. After Napoleon's defeat, in 1816 the département was divided between Prussia, the Netherlands and the neutral zone of Neu-Moresnet, which contained the zinc mine. The Société des Mines et Fonderies de Zinc de la Vieille-Montagne (Vieille Montagne Zinc Mining Company and Foundries) was created in 1837, after the independence of Belgium (which took over the Dutch claim to the neutral zone). The Belgian mine continued its operation until the end of the nineteenth century.

The company opened a second zinc mine in Zinkgruvan in Sweden, which is still in operation. It also ran a harbour in Åmmeberg to ship the zinc. The ore was shipped to another affiliate in Balen, Belgium.

The name became synonymous with zinc oxide and with rolled zinc, especially for building applications. The company was the world's oldest and also largest zinc producer, producing at its peak at least 149,000 tonnes per year. In 1989 Vieille Montagne was merged into the Union Minière group, based in Belgium, which became Umicore in 2003. The group continues its rolled zinc activity under the brand VMZinc, which still refers back to the historical link with Vieille Montagne.